TBD | The Limits of Coronavirus Predictions
As governments around the world try to predict the toll and duration of the coronavirus, they’re turning increasingly to a handful of forecasting models for answers. But many of the leading models differ drastically in their approach and methods. What do we need to know about these forecasts? And what are their limitations? Guest: Jordan Ellenberg, mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Host: Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10 Apr 202018min
Seasick: How the Coronavirus Upended the Navy
The Navy prides itself on being ready for just about anything. Sailors are even trained to fight fires, if need be. But when the coronavirus started rapidly spreading aboard the USS Roosevelt in early March, the ship’s captain sent out an SOS. Instead of a calm and collected response, the Navy’s top leadership imploded. Guest: Adam Weinstein, national security editor at The New Republic. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
9 Apr 202026min
Why COVID-19 Hits Black America Hardest
By now, Americans are getting used to the patterns of the coronavirus. It largely preys on the elderly and people with certain underlying health conditions. But as cities and towns start compiling the racial data of COVID-19 patients, new trends are making public health officials sound another alarm. Black people are getting sick and dying at shocking rates—and the virus is only part of the reason why. Guest: Akilah Johnson, narrative healthcare reporter at ProPublica Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
8 Apr 202027min
The Fight Over Wisconsin’s Election
Concerns over the coronavirus outbreak are colliding with partisan trench warfare in Wisconsin. Voters are stuck in the crosshairs. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, Slate’s courts and law correspondent. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
7 Apr 202026min
Where Social Distancing Is Impossible
Rikers Island was not built to slow a pandemic. Buildings are decrepit, and the churn of guards and new inmates makes infectious diseases incredibly hard to contain. Over the past several weeks, Rikers has released more than 600 inmates in an attempt to lessen the public health threat posed by a Covid-19 outbreak in the jail complex. But it’s not clear that will be enough. Guest: Rachael Bedard, senior director of geriatrics and complex care services at New York City’s jail complex on Rikers Island. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
6 Apr 202025min
TBD | Risking Your Life for $8.71
This week, workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, and Instacart have announced mass strikes across the country. Though demand for these services is high, pay and protection is low. What exactly do we owe to the delivery workers at the front lines of the pandemic? And with these companies hiring in record numbers, can the strikes succeed? Guests: Heidi Carrico, founding member of the Gig Workers Collective, and Johana Bhuiyan, tech accountability reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Slate Plus members get ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence. Sign up now to listen and support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
3 Apr 202020min
Jerry Falwell Jr. vs. the Coronavirus
“Politically incorrect since 1971.” That’s the unofficial motto of Liberty University, an evangelical college located in Lynchburg, Virginia headed by Jerry Falwell Jr. The school and its president take pride in bucking conventional wisdom, so when Jerry Falwell Jr. began to downplay concerns over COVID-19, echoing the rhetoric of the White House in early March, students and staff took notice. Ruth Graham says institutions like this one, institutions that take their cues from the president, have been a beat behind when it comes to responding to our current public health crisis. Guest: Ruth Graham, staff writer at Slate. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2 Apr 202022min
Should You Be Wearing a Mask?
The CDC could soon be changing its guidelines on whether the American public should be wearing masks to combat the spread of COVID-19. What does the data say about mask usage? And how do we calculate the answer for ourselves? Guest: Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. He blogs at a website called The Incidental Economist. He’ll also answer your coronavirus questions on YouTube. His channel is Healthcare Triage. Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 Apr 202021min
